# Tax: Trump vs Clinton **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 5, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703 "2016-10-05T14:09:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/21 "2016-10-05T16:39:39Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I think those who support trump on his taxes think that somehow, with trump as president, they won’t have to pay taxes either. > > This is because they are very, very, very stupid. I saw an interview with a Trump supporter who was under the impression that when Trump becomes president, he will give this man (personally), money to start a business. Not reduce his taxes. Not make it easier to start a business. No. He thinks that Trump will give him, personally, a bunch of money. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/22 "2016-10-05T16:39:40Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Quite likely but does anyone have actual facts? Without Trump’s tax returns it is impossible to answer this question. The best you can hope for is informed speculation. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/23 "2016-10-05T16:43:52Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > To me, the most revealing thing about the tax returns is that it reveals how prepared Clinton is, and how utterly impulsive Trump is. In the brouhaha about foundations, most people have overlooked the fact that last year, the Clintons gave $1,000,000 to charity. It’s irrelevant as to whether this was motivated by philanthropy or cynicism, knowing that the world would be examining the tax return with a jeweler’s loupe. The optics of giving away 10% of your income to charity is pretty good. > > At the same time, Trump, as near as we can tell, made no charitable donations and refuses to release his tax returns. If you were planning on a Presidential run, wouldn’t you go to some lengths to make sure your finances could pass inspection, even if it meant a certain amount of painful paying of actual taxes? This leads credence to the theory that Trump never expected to get this far; His plan was to come in second in the primaries, and use this to improve his brand and get more money flowing to his businesses. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/24 "2016-10-05T16:52:02Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > And there was nothing to stop him from filing an amended return after the election to bring it back to where it usually was. I pretty much assumed he had the amended returns filled out and ready to go in the mail the day after the election, win or lose. I would be extremely surprised to find that he hadn’t. Not that we would ever know, as there is no reason for him to ever release his tax returns again. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/25 "2016-10-05T17:11:27Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I pretty much assumed he had the amended returns filled out and ready to go in the mail the day after the election, win or lose. > > I would be extremely surprised to find that he hadn’t. Not that we would ever know, as there is no reason for him to ever release his tax returns again. Wouldn’t Romney have been expected to release his returns again if he ran for a second term? It’s possible he had the amended return ready to go in the event that he lost. As you say, we’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/26 "2016-10-05T17:14:26Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Just to be clear, it’s not a “dodge”, … It could well be a dodge, since apparently the IRS is auditing him for several years. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/27 "2016-10-05T18:02:28Z")
After the VP debate during the post-game analysis on CNN, that little pisher Eric Trump was given about 15 minutes of sit-down airtime to yammer on defending his dear old dad. He was insisting that daddy would release the tax returns after the audit, and then changed the subject to Clinton’s emails. At that point, to my astonishment, Wolf Blitzer asked, “Why doesn’t your father release the 2002 - 2009 returns? The IRS has said they’re no longer under audit, and even his attorneys acknowledged that.” Eric looked stymied and after blinking a few times said that he didn’t know anything about that, but again, why isn’t Clinton releasing the 33,000 emails… Blitzer, even more astonishingly, countered with the question that I haven’t heard anyone else ask Trump directly, and what _Kaine_ should’ve said during the debate (and I hope to God Clinton does on Sunday): “Well, if it’s up to negotiation, then this really isn’t about the audit at all, is it?” Trump Lite deflected somehow, but I swear to God, I wanted to leap through the screen and kiss Blitzer on the mouth, which is a phrase I never thought I’d utter. _Why isn’t the Clinton campaign hammering this home? Why aren’t more journalists pointing out this contradiction?_ It’s so damn frustrating! (BTW, one may well ask, did anyone from the Clinton/Kaine campaign have as lengthy a sit-down interview last night? To which the answer is a big “nope.” One of the reporters caught John Podesta on the fly while everyone was milling about in the hall, but it lasted for about five minutes and that was it.) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/28 "2016-10-05T18:10:04Z")
> [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > Wouldn’t Romney have been expected to release his returns again if he ran for a second term? It’s possible he had the amended return ready to go in the event that he lost. As you say, we’ll never know. I’m not sure, is it standard practice to release returns while running for your second term? (I ask this because I honestly don’t know, and google isn’t cooperative). It seems unnecessary, as your returns pre-office are already out there, and everyone knows where you’ve been working the last four years, and what your compensation would be. The only reason to release for the second term would be to show that you hadn’t amended any returns from the first time you ran, which is something I wouldn’t think would have come up all that often. It is possible that the public would have demanded to see the returns to see if they had been amended, but I don’t know if it would have as much weight as the first time around. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/29 "2016-10-05T18:15:36Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I’m not sure, is it standard practice to release returns while running for your second term? (I ask this because I honestly don’t know, and google isn’t cooperative). I vaguely think that President’s traditionally release their tax returns each year. Not a legal requirement, but good PR to show that they aren’t pulling in bribes, making shady investments, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/30 "2016-10-05T18:43:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It could well be a dodge, since apparently the IRS is auditing him for several years. My tax software has a review of things that might get you audited, and I suspect making tens of million of bucks and claiming you owe 0 in taxes is right up there. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/31 "2016-10-05T18:45:00Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I saw an interview with a Trump supporter who was under the impression that when Trump becomes president, he will give this man (personally), money to start a business. Not reduce his taxes. Not make it easier to start a business. No. He thinks that Trump will give him, personally, a bunch of money. TDS had a problem finding people who would say really stupid things on camera. Then they discovered Trump rallies. Now it is easy. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/32 "2016-10-05T18:46:09Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Both would say yes, but Trump would follow up with saying that since he knows the ins and outs of the tax system loopholes he is the best one to fix them. > > Of course that sounds to me like Al Capone running for police commissioner of Chicago on the platform that he’s the best person to take care of the city’s bootlegging problem. And the loopholes he is proposing to close do not include the one he used. So there goes that argument. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/33 "2016-10-05T18:49:08Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I think those who support trump on his taxes think that somehow, with trump as president, they won’t have to pay taxes either. > > This is because they are very, very, very stupid. Frankly, if he becomes president, I hope he can explain why the hell should _ **I** _ pay taxes, if he won’t. And I don’t just mean flap his lips and let noise come out. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/34 "2016-10-05T19:33:42Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I don’t think it’s fair to say it’s all about the hypocrisy. I think a good number of people are straight up shocked/annoyed that a billionaire may have not paid federal taxes for 20 years full stop, legality be damned. This. I get that people will want to minimize their tax burden, but for a man living in luxury (by anyone’s definition) to pay _nothing._… **NOTHING?!?!?** :mad::mad::mad: ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/35 "2016-10-05T21:00:41Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > No, Mace. From a political standpoint it’s a dodge. > > This highlights one of the fundamental dichotomies with advancing a businessman as a president. The skillsets and behavior patterns are very different. > > While a businessman - or ordinary citizen - wants to avoid all possible taxes, a politician should be more concerned with being seen to pay taxes to help fund the government s/he wishes to control. Ditto for control. A businessman can become accustomed to running things essentially as a fascism. The guy in charge calls all the shots. That’s simply not possible in a system where he has to worry about other branches and an unruly electorate. > > Finally, the issue of ‘I’ll run it like a business’ has always been a misapprehension. A business is designed to generate a profit. Government, by design, is designed to NOT make a profit. If one IS running to make a profit there’s some form of corruption going on. > > In short, businessmen don’t really make good political leaders, despite what people might say. Oh really? So Hillary and Bill had “deductions” but Trump had “dodges”? Puh-leeeze. As for the rest of your argument (contrasting skill so businessmen with politicians), that’s a complete straw man for the topic at hand-- who paid more taxes. But still, it’s not something I would argue with you about. I pretty much agree. However, I am certain that Bill and Hill took advantage of every tax deception they legally could, and if for some reason they didn’t, then I’d consider them to be stupid. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/36 "2016-10-05T21:01:44Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It could well be a dodge, since apparently the IRS is auditing him for several years. They are not auditing him for what he did 1995, which is clearly what the OP is referencing. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/37 "2016-10-05T21:52:46Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > They are not auditing him for what he did 1995, which is clearly what the OP is referencing. Actually, since he took a NOL forward, they could audit that. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/38 "2016-10-05T21:55:16Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Why would you ask about taxes since Trump was born? I don’t know about the US but here in the UK even children pay taxes if they earn enough. (Yes, I’m greatly simplifying.) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/39 "2016-10-05T21:57:49Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > This. I get that people will want to minimize their tax burden, but for a man living in luxury (by anyone’s definition) to pay _nothing._… **NOTHING?!?!?** :mad::mad::mad: Well maybe he paid squillions in tax before 1995? I don’t know, so I’m asking. We know he took a huge loss in 1995 but suppose he paid $2B in tax in 1994? ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703/40 "2016-10-05T22:03:49Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > This. I get that people will want to minimize their tax burden, but for a man living in luxury (by anyone’s definition) to pay _nothing._… **NOTHING?!?!?** :mad::mad::mad: To me this is the more interesting question to ask Trump: “Nobody is saying what you did is illegal, but do you personally think it is right that the laws allowed you to pay nothing in income tax during this time period?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-trump-vs-clinton/767703.md?page=3)